private company

American  

noun

British.

1. a company whose shareholders may not exceed 50 in number and whose shares may not be offered for public subscription.

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private company British  

noun

1. a limited company that does not issue shares for public subscription and whose owners do not enjoy an unrestricted right to transfer their shareholdings Compare public company

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Etymology

Origin of private company

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

private company

This was just about stealing test answers from a private company, Yampolskiy said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

He said the penalised vehicles were in a car park adjacent to the station in Ashburnham Road and it was managed by the council, not a private company.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

The first private company to successfully launch a liquid-fueled rocket to Earth’s orbit; the first to land a rocket launched to space and back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

Moody’s, once a private company, had gone public in 2000.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis